Social Determinants of Work Initiative

The Social Determinants of Work (SDoW) Initiative will bring the Greater Cleveland community together to strategically advance mitigation of barriers workers face, employer practices that lead to good jobs, and policy changes that fix systemic barriers.

What are the Social Determinants of Work?

United Way of Greater Cleveland and Towards Employment have identified the following 8 Social Determinants of Work, which will be explored throughout our SDoW Initiative:

Job Flexibility

Healthcare

Childcare

Transportation

Sustained Education

Home and Community Health

Broadband Access

Access to Justice

United Way of Greater Cleveland and Towards Employment have identified the following 8 Social Determinants of Work, which will be explored throughout our SDoW initiative:

Healthcare
Childcare
Home and Community Health
Job Flexibility
Transportation
Sustained Education
Broadband Access
Access to Justice

What are Cliff Effects?

Cliff effects occur when individuals receiving public benefits earn new or increased income that disqualifies them from the public benefit, resulting in a net loss of income.

Initiative Objectives

1

Mitigate Barriers

Convene local stakeholders to organize a collective response to the social determinants of work through a Community Action Plan.

Educate

Educate community on nature of the problem and possible solutions pulling from state/federal efforts.

2

Encourage Employer Practice Shifts

Develop an Employer Toolkit and continue employer engagement sessions to encourage employers to adopt practices that result in greater economic stability and mobility for workers.

Identify Work

Identify work already being done in the Greater Cleveland area to mitigate benefit cliffs, including direct services and employer practices.

3

Advocate for Policy Changes

Collaborate with partners locally and statewide on advocating for policies that result in greater economic equity.

Identify Gaps

Identify gaps in the Greater Cleveland area’s response to benefit cliffs at the mitigation and employer practice level.

Events/Engagement Opportunities

United Way of Greater Cleveland is convening several community events throughout the duration of this initiative. Click on each event below to learn more, or to register.

Social Determinants of Work Summit: Worker Cliff Effects

Held July 14, 2022 at the Cleveland State University Student Center Ballroom, this event informed attendees on the benefit cliff effects and engaged them in creating a list of assets and gaps.

To view the event highlight reel, watch the presentations, and read the executive summary, click “learn more” below.

Employer Engagements

United Way of Greater Cleveland has partnered with TeamNEO and Rise Together, LLC to engage the business community in conversations around worker-supporting innovations that remove the barriers within the Social Determinants of Work.

These engagements will be ongoing.

Community Action Plan Working Sessions

In the fall of 2022, we held several community conversations hosted by local organizations and targeting people whose intersecting identities result in them facing multiple barriers to economic stability and mobility. The result of these conversations is a Community Action Plan that will lead the work of a Greater Cleveland coalition committed to addressing the Social Determinants of Work. This coalition will be convened in 2023.

Thank you to: the YWCA, Family Promise, the LGBT Center, Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, Towards Employment, Veterans Association, and Signature Health for hosting and gathering service recipients and providers for these conversations.

Social Determinants of Work Symposium with Dr. Angela Jackson

This event will feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Angela Jackson, CEO of Future Forward Strategies, who coined the term Social Determinants of Work and whose work focuses on building equitable economies. We will highlight local work being done on each of the Social Determinants of Work, and launch the SDoW Coalition by sharing the SDoW Community Action Plan.

Save the Date: March 28, 2023 | Evening
Click “learn more” for event details and to register!

Our Partners

Thank you to the organizations working with us on this important initiative. Our partners bring invaluable expertise and resources to the table and are integral to the success of our Social Determinants of Work efforts. Together, we are seeking solutions to a collective problem through collective action.